| Common name: | apple of Sodom |
| Scientific name: | Solanum linnaeanum Hepper and P.-M.L. Jaeger |
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Plant status
Catchment management authority boundaries
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Regionally prohibited in the North East Catchment |
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Regionally controlled in the West Gippsland, East Gippsland, Port Phillip and Western Port Catchments |
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Restricted in the Mallee, Wimmera, Glenelg Hopkins, North Central, Corangamite and Goulburn Broken Catchments |
Read more about the classification of invasive plants in Victoria
Plant images
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Plant biology
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Appearance |
Shrub (or bush) |
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Description |
Apple of Sodom is an erect, spreading shrub. |
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Stems |
Stems range from green or purple to brown in colour. They grow erect to 2 m in length and are irregularly branched. Along the stems are numerous straight or slightly curved prickles, 3-12 mm long and minute stellate (star-shaped) hairs |
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Leaves |
Leaves alternate along branches and are 5-15 cm long, oblong-to-oval in shape and have deep, rounded lobes. Prickles line the leaf stalks and upper and lower sides of leaf veins. Stellate (star-shaped) hairs appear mostly on the lower surface of the leaves. |
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Flowers |
Flowers can range from almost white to purple in colour. They are 2.5 cm in diameter and consist of a 5-lobed calyx. Five petals, fused at the base are produced singly or in small clusters at, or close to, the ends of branches. |
| Fruit |
Apple of Sodom fruit are a globular berry between 2 cm and 3.5 cm in diameter. They are green with white mottling at first, then yellow when ripe. The fruit is bitter and poisonous. The calyx of the fruit is armed with numerous fine prickles. |
Growth and lifecycle
Method of reproduction and disperal
Apple of Sodom is spread by seed. Dispersal is affected somewhat as neither the fruit nor the seeds are eaten and spread by birds or animals.
The fruit ripens on the bush, eventually dropping off and is blown or dragged away with the seeds enclosed. The weed is commonly found along fence lines, raised outcrops, dunes and established vegetation where the fruit comes to rest.
Seedbank propagule persistence
Apple of Sodom produces approximately 300 berries per plant with 50 seeds per berry resulting in 1,500 seeds per plant.
Preferred habitat
Apple of Sodom prefers sub humid and humid, warm-temperate regions and grows well on the sandy calcareous soils of coastal areas where it competes strongly with native species and poorer pastures.
Growth calendar
The icons on the calendar below represent the times of year for flowering, seeding, germination, the dormancy period of Apple of sodom and also the optimum time for treatment.
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Impact
Impact on ecosystems and waterways
Apple of Sodom is a strong competitor of native plants and crowds out other vegetation. The weed competes with beneficial plants and reduces food availability for fauna.
The plant may, in some instances, provide harbour for pest animals.
Agricultural and economic impacts
Fruit from the Apple of Sodom is poisonous and the foliage of the weed is not readily eaten by stock because it is prickly.
The plant is a problem in unimproved pastures. Infestations of the weed crowd out other vegetation and restrict stock movement, thereby reducing the carrying capacity and may provide harbour for pest animals.
Social value and health impacts
If left to establish it can result in dense patches which crowd out other vegetation. The weed’s prickly nature may potentially restrict human access and recreational activities.
Management
Recommended treatment
- Application of a registered herbicide
- Physical removal
Important information about prescribed measures for the control of noxious weeds
Other management techniques
Cultivation of the soil in which young African boxthorn plants grow may also support its management after implementing the prescribed measures above.
Read more about management and control of invasive plants
References
Carr, G.W., Yugovic, J.V. and Robinson, K.E. 1992, Environmental weed invasions in Victoria: Conservation and management implications, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Ecological Horticulture, Victoria.
Parsons WT & Cuthbertson EG 1992, Noxious Weeds of Australia, Inkata Press, Melbourne and Sydney.
Parsons, W.T. and Cuthbertson, E.G. 2001, Noxious weeds of Australia, 2nd edn, Inkata Press, Melbourne & Sydney.
Department of Primary Industries, Regionally Prohibited Weeds Information Sheet, 2010.
